This adventurer is overly righteous.

The feeling of being watched by everyone made Leijin feel a little uncomfortable. According to his temper, he might have yelled and lost his temper to make them all look away, but the gazes focused on him at this moment were not malicious. Moreover, those people were all clergy members of the monastery. They were curiously looking at Leijin, or more accurately, staring at the letter in his hand.

They heard the name "Kroya" come from the dwarf's mouth, meaning that the letter may have been written by Kroya himself.

"Is Kroya coming back?"

"Very likely..."

They whispered among themselves as Lejin weaved through them. A monk led the way, and as he listened to their conversation, Lejin felt uneasy. He knew that Kroya had escaped on his own, and the people here seemed to really want him back.

"I think if Croa were to seek anyone's help," the monk leading Lejin remarked, "it would only be Priest Arctis."

"Actus?"

“Pastor Architis is the abbot of our monastery.” The monk stopped, and the two stood in front of a room. He spoke to Lejin with reverence, “He comes from the Central Church, is a great and respected priest, and is also the foster father of Kroya.”

Please maintain your manners.

After speaking, the monk turned and left. Leijin examined the door, which was no different from any other door in the monastery. Generally speaking, the abbots of monasteries had larger and more comfortable rooms, and their doors were more exquisite and easy to distinguish.

Lejin only saw a small sign on the wall to the right of the door, which read "Actus".

"After all, he is Kroya's adoptive father." Leijin thought to himself, "Kroya's growth into who he is today must have been greatly influenced by him."

Then, Lei Jin raised his hand to knock on the door, only to find that it was unlocked and opened with a light knock.

Inside the room was a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and several deep wrinkles on his face, but his eyes were bright and he did not look old at all. He was holding a scripture and had written footnotes at the bottom of the pages. When the door was pushed open, he put away his pen and called for Leijin to enter the room.

"This must be the priest that Kroya mentioned, the one who can purify artificial dragon hearts."

Leikin had no doubt about this. He had traveled extensively in his early years and had a great deal of contact with priests. However, in terms of temperament and even the faintly revealed magic, the priest named Akitis was a first-rate master—even some high-ranking priests who could hold celebrations in big cities were not as good as him.

  

"My name is Leikin, and I am a partner of Kroya. He entrusted me with this letter and to ask you for help."

"You must be tired from your long journey. Please sit down." Akitis took the letter, stood up and arranged for Leijin to sit down. The two sat facing each other, and Leijin could feel a gaze scrutinizing him.

"Snap!"

The envelope was opened, and Arctius looked down at the contents of the letter before speaking after a moment.

“Okay, I’ll help you,” he said. “Kroya, as my adopted son, rarely asks me for help. He matures earlier and is more independent than others.”

"Please show me the artificial dragon heart that you mentioned in the letter."

Leijin took out an antique iron box from his backpack, which he never left without. It was quite sturdy and extremely difficult to open from the outside without the correct method. It was perfect for protecting the real artificial dragon heart.

The iron box was opened, and Akitis held the beating heart in his hand, squinting slightly as if carefully examining its structure. Then, a gentle light shone in his hand—the radiance of the purification spell he had cast. Wisps of black smoke rose from the artificial dragon's heart, almost filling the entire room. Leijin felt a sense of suffocation, but in the next instant, the light intensified, and the thick, ominous black smoke was swept away.

"Alright." Akitis handed the still-beating heart to Leikin with a blank expression, as if he had done something incredibly simple. Leikin clicked his tongue slightly, paused for a moment, and then took the heart from Akitis's hand.

This is the power of a high-ranking priest to restrain evil forces...

Both in terms of magical power and control, this priest was stronger than Lejin had expected. No wonder Kroya had so much confidence in him.

If the other party has such strength, why would they live in such a small place?

Leikin recalled what the monk had told him earlier: Akitis came from the Central Church.

In other words, the other party must have offended someone or gotten involved in some kind of power struggle, so they had to come here to keep a low profile in order to get rid of trouble.

"In that case, I'll leave." Leikin felt that thinking about these things was pointless, since he didn't understand anything and couldn't draw the right conclusions. Right now, the artificial dragon heart had been completely purified and had become an excellent forging material. Leikin felt that it was more meaningful to think about how to use it to forge a good sword.

Therefore, Lejin wanted to leave quickly and return to the blacksmith's shop to forge the Dragon Heart Sword, but Akitis persuaded him to stay.

It wasn't anything urgent, it's just...

"I'd like to know something about Chroa," Acitis said with a worried expression, like an ordinary father. "It's been almost three months since he ran away from home to become an adventurer. How is he doing?"

While Lekin was pondering how to begin, Akitis continued talking incessantly.

"I don't know why he wanted to run away. If he wants to travel, I can arrange for him to visit and learn from various churches and make some new friends. That would be beneficial for him to become a pastor in the future, and it would also be safe."

"I don't hold any prejudice against adventurers, but as you know, Mr. Legin, being an adventurer isn't safe, and it's a profession that can easily corrupt people. I'm worried that Kroya might go astray..."

"If he craves fame and power, then he can grow up according to my plan. I originally intended to send him to the Central Church to study after he came of age, and then promote him to a real pastor. There is no better way than this. Just do as I arrange. Mr. Lekin, you don't know, Kroya is very talented..."

"Could it be that my upbringing failed me, leading Kroya to pursue a life of luxury? Mr. Leigh, how is Kroya's current lifestyle? How much does he spend on clothes and entertainment?"

Lejin probably knew why Croa had run away from the monastery.